Adwilliamelectricvertising-sign for vehicles.



A. BOOTH.

ADVERTISING SIGN FOR VEHICLES.

P l I I I I I I I 2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Patented Mar. 12, 1918.

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III-II APPLICATION FILED MAR. I5. 1916.

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A. BOOTH.

ADVERTISING SIGN FOR VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 15. 1916.

1 ,258, 645 Patented Mar. 12, 1918.

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8 Uerztor;

7f zeasx Orlfiuz B 0077? @Mgd ARTHUR BOOTH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ADVERTISING-SIGN FOR VEHICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 12, 1918.

Application filed March 15, 1916. Serial No. 84,284.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR BOOTH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Advertising-Signs for Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to advertising signs for vehicles such as street cars, railway cars, and the like, and more particularly my invention has to do with signs having changeable or movable indicia and characters that are employed for the purpose of attracting the attention of assengers.

One of the ob ects of my invention is the provision of an advertising sign of this character that is adapted to have its movable elements set in motion by the movement of the vehicle incident to stopping or shuting thereof, which causes a reduction or acceleration of the momentum of said vehicle. Another object of my invention is the provision of a sign of this character that is provided with a movable card adapted to be swung into either one of two positions by means of a hinge along one edge, so as to expose to view both surfaces thereof. Still another object of my invention is the provision of means whereby a character or figure of any desired outline may be caused to appear in action.

Other objects of my invention are the provision of a sign that is comparatively inexpensive to manufacture, and is so constructed that it is adapted to be placed in the ordinary well-known card-rack of street cars and similar vehicles, without altering or changing the construction of either the card-rack or the sign, and to rovide asign that is neat and attractive in appearance and is adapted to attract the eye of persons who would ordinarily not observe advertising matter in passenger vehicles.

These and other objects I prefer to accomplish by the means and in the manner hereinafter fully described and as more particularly pointed out in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which,

Figure 1 is a fragmentary front elevation of my improved sign.

Fig. 2 1s a similar view of the rear portion of said sign, showing the actuating mechanism thereof.

Fig. 8 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken on line 3, 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. t is a similar section taken on line 4,1 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 2, illustrating a slightly modified construction of the actuating mechanism, but involving substantially the same principle.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 to 4: of the drawings, it will be observed that my improved advertising sign comprises a suitable plate, 10, of cardboard, bristol board, or other suitable stiff material, that is substantially rectangular in shape and is provided with a suitable window, 11. end edges of the plate, 10, are provided upon their rear face with inwardly projecting curved strips, 12, that conform in outline with the curvature of the ordinary card-rack of a passenger vehicle, so that the sign may be readily disposed in said rack and held in position by the usual retaining bands employed for such purposes.

Disposed longitudinally upon the rear surface of the plate, 10, are several parallel strengthening strips, 13, that extend from end to end thereof, the two lower strips preferably bounding the upper and lower edges of the window, 11. Suitable card-holding guides, 14., are disposed vertically alongside the end edges of the window, 11, and are provided with crossed grooves cr slots, 15, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, into which suitable upper and lower cards, 16 and 17, are adapted to be mounted.

A movable sign-card, 18, is disposed in front of these cards, 16 and 17 and is hinged along one of its longitudinal edges so that it may be swung into an upper or lower portion of the window, and is provided upon both sides with advertising matter, so that when it is in one position, as shown in Fig. 1, the card, 16, will be visible, and the card, 17, will be obscured, and one face of the sign-card, 18, will also be visible below said card, 16. The means for hinging this signcard, 18, comprises a suitable rod, 19, secured to the upper edge of the card, as illustrated in Fig. 1, and extended beyond the end edges thereof so that its ends will extend into and be journaled in suitable bearings in the vertical strips, 14-, and one end whereof The is provided with asuitable crank, 20, that projects beyond its hearings in its respective strip. The crank, 20, is provided with a suitable weight or counterbalance, 21, which is approximately the same weight as the card, 18, so that the mechanism employed for moving the card, 18, into either of its positions will not need to generate any con;

V a bracket, 27, secured to and arising from the central horizontal strip, 13, of the frame, and one of the ends of said walking-beam terminates in a vertical plane substantially above the end of the crank, 20, hereinbefore mentioned. A link, 27 operably connects this end of the walking-beam, 22, with the outer free end of the crank, 20, and when by reason of the sudden reduction of the momentum of the vehicle, or the acceleration of said momentum, incident to the stopping or starting of said vehicle, the ball will run up the track a distance sufficient to carry it beyond the fulcrum of the walking-beam, 22, which causes the same to oscillate to its opposite position, whereupon the ball will gravitate to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 of the drawings. I have found it extremely desirable to provide an elongated slot, 28, in the walking-beam at cle is reduced or increased, the walking approximately its center, and the fulcrum or pivotal pm, 26, is extended therethrough so that the instant the momentum of the vehibeam will slide in onedirection or the other, carrying the weighted ball with it, and thus shiftin the fulcrum nearer the end upon which t 1e ball had been resting and permitting the ball to travel a shorter distance before it over-balances, than would be the case in event the fulcrum were disposed at a fixed point on the walking-beam.

In the drawings I have illustrated at the 1eft-hand portion of Fig. 1, the representation of a human figure, the arm of which is adapted to be moved as indicated by the dotted lines, and inorder to accomplish this, I mount the arm, 29, upon a transverse pivot,

, 30, that extends through the sign-board, 10.

The inner end of the pivot, 30, has a lever, 31, mounted thereon and the free end of said lever is provided with an elongated slot, 32, engaged by a pin, 33, carried by the link,

27 above referred to. When the link, 27, is moved in an upward or downward direction by the shifting of the walking-beam and ball, the pin, 33, will move the lever, 31, in a corresponding direction, thus giving to the arm, 29, of the figure, a vibratory movement such as is shown in the dotted lines in Fig. 1.

I have illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawings a slightly modified construction, wherein a tube, 40, is substituted for the Walkingbeam and track, 22 and 23, and the weighted ball, 41, is disposed in the interior of said tube. The tube is provided with transverse projections or trunnions, 42, mediate its ends and said trunnions are adapted to ride in horizontally elongated slots,'43, disposed in the mounting or carrier plates, 44. Pivoted adjacent one end of the tube, and preferably in a plane above the same, is a first-class lever, 45, that is substantially vertically dis-' posed and has its lower free end normally in the path of longitudinal movement of the tube, 40. A coiled contraction spring, 46, retains the lever in the position men" tioned and the upper end of said lever is connected by a link, 47, with a third-class lever, 48, having its pivotal point in substantially the same horizontal plane as the lever, 45. The lower end, 49, of this lever is 95 preferably tapered or. pointed, as shown, and is adapted to move in a path that intersects the upper extended end, 50, of a pendulum, 51, the latter pivotally mounted in the outer end of a plate, 52, secured to the rear of the front plate of the sign. The pivotal pin, 53, of the pendulum passes through the signplate and has the arm, 54, of the character or figure upon the front .of the sign, secured to and movable therewith,

From the above it will be seen that when the tube is shifted by the sudden stopping or starting of the vehicle, the lever, 48, will be moved in one direction or the other (as indicated in dotted lines), through the move 110 ment of thelever, 45, and the link, 47, which causes the oscillating motion of the pendu lum, 51, and a consequent corresponding movement of the arm, 54, of the advertising character. A

In order to actuate the sign-card, 18, by this mechanism, I prefer to mount a flexible cord, 55, upon one end of the tube, 40, the lower end of said cord passing around a small drum, 56, secured to the extended end, 120 57, of the card-mounting rod. When the tube is rocked in the manner of the walkingbeam, 22, by the gravitation of the ball, 41, to one end or the other thereof, the cord, 55, will be wrapped, or unwrapped from, around 125 the drum, 56, thus permitting the sign-card,

18, to be moved in a raised or lowered position, it being understood that the weight of the sign-card, 18, will cause the rotation of its mounting rod and the consequent Wrap- 130 ping of the cord around the drum, 56, when the adjacent end of the tube becomes depressed to permit such action.

While I have illustrated and described certain specific means for carryin out my invention, it, of course, will be obvious to others skilled in the art, that divers modifications or refinements thereof may be made without materially departing from the spirit of my invention. I therefore desire it understood that all uch changes, for example, those shown in the drawings, are contemplated as included within the scope of my invention as expressed in the appended claims.

. What I claim is 1. In a movable sign, mechanism for causing a movement thereof comprising a memher, a horizontally shiftable bearing therefor, a weight shiftably carried by said member, and means whereby the movement of said member is transmitted to said sign.

2. In a movable sign, mechanism for causing a movement thereof comprising a meber, a longitudinally shiftable bearing therefor, and a weight movable longitudinally with respect to said member whereby the movement of said weight will cause the oscillation of said member and a shifting of the same upon its bearing.

Signed at Chicago, county of Cook and State of Illinois, this 11th day of March, 1916.

ARTHUR BOOTH.

Witnesses:

BENJ. T. Roonnoosn, \VM. HAROLD EICHELMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for flve cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

